Baseball is my favorite season, and Opening Day, my favorite holiday.
I have been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember.
I collected baseball cards in elementary school. Michael Senner, with his Beckett’s Baseball Card Price Guide tucked under his arm at every recess, let me know in no uncertain terms that I should have never, NEVER put a pin through the white strip at the top of the Topp’s Jose Canseco rookie card and tacked it to my bulletin board. It did not matter to Michael Senner that I thought Jose Canseco was cute.
Going to my grandparent’s house in Sidney, Montana, as a child, my cousins had the Chicago Cubs game on every day with Harry Carey in the booth. By default, I felt I had to be a Cubbies fan. Ryne Sandburg was my favorite player, and I could not wait to tell Michael Senner that I did NOT tack his baseball card to my bulletin board.
When you grow up in eastern Montana with no nearby metropolitan area, fans have some choices on favorite teams. The Twins are the closest geographically with nine-and-a-half hours between Richey, Montana – population 165 in 2021 – and Minneapolis. The Mariners made some sense with more than 15 hours of drive time between Richey and Seattle.
Then, in 1993, my senior year of high school, the Rockies came to Colorado. Denver is four minutes closer to Richey than Minneapolis. It wasn’t until I was an adult living in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with just one hour and 25 minutes to Coors Field, that I had found my team.
As an adult, I am a Ballpark Chaser and have visited half of the MLB ballparks in the nation. Last summer, Oakland was marked off the list, as they are most likely leaving the Bay Area. This summer, Detroit is on the list.
Baseball season has all the things.
All the sounds – the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the constant murmur of conversations.
All the smells – freshly cut grass, burgers grilling, the mountain air at Coors Field in Denver.
All the excitement and hopes and dreams that this will be the year.
I attended my first Opening Day at the absolutely beautiful Oracle Park in San Francisco when the Giants opened against the Rockies in 2021. While I certainly did not see everyone at the Stadium, I did only see two other Rockies fans that day.
Oracle Park. Opening Day, 2021.
With Opening Day Fever officially in my blood, I finally got to attend a Rockies game to open the season. Often, the Rockies open on the road. A schedule adjusted due to lingering effects of the pandemic put the Rockies at home to open the season in 2022.
That was also the year that Russell Wilson joined the Denver Broncos, and he was welcomed to the Mile High City.
Dinger greets Russell Wilson on
Opening Day, 2022.
Yet again, it’s that time of year to be hopeful and optimistic: Major League Baseball’s Opening Day. On Thursday, March 28, all 30 teams are slated to play. Yet, the season officially kicks off with a Dodgers-Padres series in Korea March 20-21 for the Seoul Series.
International contests are becoming more popular. My Rockies and the Houston Astros will play in the Mexico City Series on April 27-28.
To honor this tradition of Opening Day, I am going to share some of 2024’s hottest new children’s and middle grade books about baseball so that they, too, can begin to build a love for the sport. There is also a bonus book for adults interested in Hall of Fame players.
Children’s Nonfiction
Five stars for this children’s nonfiction text that ends at 160 pages.
As a baseball fanatic, I love this book! It’s accessible. The format is consistent and interesting. The color choices are fantastic. The content – stats and history – are just right for the audience.
This text is an illustrated collection of true baseball stories for kids. Officially licensed with the Hall of Fame, readers can follow career paths of some of the greatest players in history. Organized in chronological order, each section introduces a player and focuses on an important moment in their career.
My only issue is with the player choices, and it’s the age-old debate: is so-and-so really better than so-and-so? And, my issue isn’t negative. It caused me to really think about each position – as the chapters are arranged by field position – and I went back to the title. This text is about the game changers. The people who laid the groundwork of greatness so others could see them, emulate them, and be better than them. In the Introduction, the author describes the criteria to pick each player.
Each chapter begins with the position, a description written within a baseball diamond, and a Fast Fact (super interesting!). The next two pages are Around the Diamond with sections on stats and interesting facts, Then and Now, Talkin’ Baseball, Pioneer Player, Hall of Fame information, gear, and a quote. This format – which is eye-catching and easy to read – is consistent in each chapter. Then come the players at those positions. Four players get individual pages and a picture, and four players share a page (the layout reminds me a little bit of a baseball card).
Sure to be a hit with readers of all ages, the sweet spot is ages 8-14, although adults and teens would enjoy this, also. It could be used as a reference for a larger project (thinking about students in school), to open the door to a healthy debate, to learn, or – best of all – simply to enjoy the history and greatness of the sport.
Children’s Fiction
Another 5-star read.
If you have a passion for baseball and a love of baseball history and the historic players of the game, then this book is for you.
Sandra Headen weaves a story of race relations, strong family dynamics, and team concept into an historical fiction novel that is a must-read for anyone ages 12 and older.
Told through the experiences of 12-year-old Cato in 1935 North Carolina, this book addresses segregation, injustice, and the power of community. There are some haunting scenes from the past, and some of the more powerful text is found in the back matter, which includes an Author’s Note, historical background, biographical information, and more.
This middle grade/YA text provides many inlets for a reader, and the most intriguing for me was the information about the Negro League. The player connections in the text were believable and added a great touch to the story. I was instantly drawn into the scene at the ballfield and could imagine the emotions of meeting someone so famous and endearing to the fans.
Recommended for lovers of baseball, sports, baseball history and would make a great classroom read to study race relations, segregation, and the pre-war South.
This book from Quarto Publishing Group released on March 5, and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
For our readers at the intermediate elementary level, this book at 152 pages provides an example of teamwork.
A story strong on building a team, being a good teammate, and building leadership in young people, this children’s fiction book is a solid read. The sweet spot for readers is ages 8-13. The illustrations break up the text nicely.
In this book, Coach Joe turns over the leadership elements to the players and Luis, who is new to the team, must find a way to bring his teammates together. While competition and winning is important, it’s more about working together and learning from others' strengths.
In this graphic novel, Alexandra, also known as Al, has been playing baseball with her older brothers for as long as she can remember. But when she ages out of Little League, it seems like it’s the end of the road for Al and the sport she loves. Until, that is, her friend Sammy suggests that Al try out for the middle school team—a team that has always been boys-only.
Al is prepared to fight for her right to try out, but to her surprise, the coach is delighted by her interest. When Al makes the team, it seems like everything is going to work out. But with a tenth consecutive championship on the line for Brinkley Middle School and a team that can’t seem to get along, will their season ground out faster than Al can say “home run”?
Adult Nonfiction
Another title from Quarto Publishing Group, this historical text includes stats, photos, and biographies of more than 175 players in the MLB Hall of Fame. This is a classic collection that is a must-have to every baseball lover's library.
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